Twelve Nightcaps Before Christmas – The Re(night)cap with Afterword

The nightcaps we posted are good all year long

With any of these you will never go wrong

In case you missed one we’ve reposted them here

With one afterword, coming sometime next year…

imageEpilogue: Oktopusake Premium Junmai Sake, Connecticut

On the rare occasions I’m not drinking wine with sushi, I opt for sake instead. Sake is a perfect pairing with sushi and, since it is a rice wine, I can still call it research. I was very excited to learn that there is a local company working on perfecting their own sake. Oktopusake will soon be offering three varieties of their premium junmai sake to Connecticut consumers: Sun – a traditional dry sake; Moon – an unfiltered version (think milky white and slightly sweet); and Stars – a specialty reserve sake that will be as black as squid ink because it will be tinted with, well…squid ink! We will keep you posted on Oktopusake’s progress and are very much looking forward to seeing this new local product in Connecticut stores and restaurants in 2014.

 

 

Re(night)cap: One of the questions I encounter the most as a wine educator is “What’s your favorite wine?” I confess, it’s a question I’ve come to dread because I always feel like I’m disappointing the inquisitor. My answer usually goes something like this: “I don’t really have a favorite. It depends on the day, the time of year, the company in which I find myself, and any gustatory delights with which I may be pairing the wine.”  If really pushed, I’ll tell them that I am a Champagne girl. This seems to provide them with a little more satisfaction. But the truth is my favorite wine changes on a monthly, weekly and even daily basis. And I am always waiting to find my next favorite wine. The beauty of the wine world is that there is always more to explore. So, here I will present a list of my 12 favorite wines right now for drinking and gifting during the holidays, one day at a time for the next 12 days.

A Votre Santé!

For the full list of 12 nightcaps, click here: Nightcap Recap

 

 

 

 

 

Twelve Nightcaps Before Christmas – The 9th Nightcap

albet_cava_reserva_loNightcap #9: Albet i Noya Cava Brut, Penedes, Spain $16

The holidays just wouldn’t be the holidays without bubbles and there are more to choose from than ever before. While prosecco sales in the United States have gone up around 35% in the last 3 years, it is really cava I crave. Cava is the sparkling wine of Spain. It has traditionally been made from 3 indigenous grapes – xarel-lo, parellada and macabeu – but beginning in 1986, chardonnay, and then pinot noir and several other grapes have been authorized for use. Cava is made in the traditional method with a second fermentation in the bottle in which it will eventually be sold, as in Champagne, but is less strict than the French when it comes to aging requirements.

Albet i Noya is one of my favorite cava producers. The reasons why are too numerous to list here, but I will give you the highlights. This family winery was the first in Catalonia to embrace organic farming and winemaking, taking it one stop further in 2004 with biodynamic grape growing on part of the estate.; they disgorge their cava manually and print the disgorgement date on the back of every bottle; and they only use yeast indigenous to the Penedès region. Their cava is even vegan friendly! But mainly I love the way this cava tastes. It is made from the 3 indigenous grapes plus chardonnay, and was aged for 18 months. It is clean and mineralic, with just a splash of citrus, and then a hint of hazelnuts on the long finish. And what lovely bubbles.  ĺSalud!